RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Music Reviews > Chrono Cross OST
Reviewed by: BrantB
The Good
I heard this soundtrack before I played Chrono Cross, so I had the advantage of listening to the music simply as music, and not as "The song that was playing when ..... happened." Yasunori Mitsuda has managed to produce something that rises above being just the OST to a game to being as great as, if not greater than, the game it was composed for. Asking "What would Chrono Cross be without the music?" is too obvious a question to ask, since anyone can figure out that the game would be a lot worse without the music. A better question is, "What would the OST be without Chrono Cross?" If this 3-CD set was released alone, without any mention that it had originally been composed for some game named Chrono Cross, would it still be enjoyable to listen to? Absolutely. This says a lot about it.
When I first heard this soundtrack, I didn't think much of it. Sure, it was composed by the same person who did Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, but this was different. Where was the playfulness of the Chrono Trigger OST? Where was the raw emotion heard in Xenogears? I was afraid this was going to be a letdown.
Well, I was wrong on all counts. The more I listened to the music, the more I realized that the things I was listening for were indeed there - but presented more subtly than I thought. I only had to listen again, closer, to hear it. The two styles Mitsuda displayed from Chrono Trigger and Xenogears are melded together to make something entirely different. Take for example Home Termina, (Disc 2, Track 3) which starts out as a lazily-paced song. It slowly builds up to a cheery melody that could have easily fit in with the Chrono Trigger OST, but has a certain flair to it that clearly sets it apart from anything else. The same could be said for many other songs. Instead of being a letdown, this OST ended up setting a new standard.
An interesting trick used is the rearranging of the various themes found in the game. Each town has a single basic melody, which is arranged in a different style depending on which world you're in. Also, the overworld themes are arrangements from Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers, two earlier works by Mitsuda.
The sound quality is amazing. You hear fret noise from the Fado guitars, crisp percussion, and surprisingly good brass. (Personally, I've always found synth brass instruments to sound the least realistic.) Hats off to whoever at Squaresoft was responsible for this, you did an excellent job.
Notable Songs
It's hard to decide what songs to mention here. There are just too many good tracks on this soundtrack to mention every one. I'll try to narrow it down to a few of my favorites.
Chronomantique (Disc 2-Track 11):
A reggae version of the Chrono Trigger theme. Very nice to listen to.
Dreamwatch of Time (3-7):
This track wasn't actually used in the game, but appeared in the demo trailer. The linear notes for this track read, "I think this song sort of summarizes the contents of the whole game." It's an excellent arrangement of the two main themes (Radical Dreamers and Chrono Trigger) used in the game itself.
Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~ (3-15):
The ending theme. Noriko Mitose's voice is beautiful and haunting. This song's simplicity is its strength -- It is easily the best song on the whole soundtrack.
Dream Fragments (3-16):
This music-box version of the previous track appears on disc 1 as well, but I think it fits better here at the very end, right after Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~.
The Bad
There really isn't much to complain about here. There is the odd track that is rather boring and easily skippable. Personally, I couldn't stand to listen to Gale (2-20) outside the game; it just seemed too random and without form. In the Time of Darkness (3-12) isn't really music at all, just
a series of ominous roars and wind that accompanies the last battle. However, the few bad tracks are easily outnumbered by the many better ones to the point of the bad ones not mattering at all.
Explanation of Rating
Giving an OST a numerical value from one to ten is hard to do. As much as I want to, I can't just say "It's a 10 out of 10" and forget about it, because that would be taking the easy way out. The purpose of a 1-to-10 scale is to show whether X is better/worse than Y, and how much so, but such things are mostly personal opinion. Sure, it's a wonderful OST. But is it better than Xenogears? Better than Final Fantasy VI? Better than <Insert Soundtrack Here>? It depends on who you ask. So then, in my opinion, how does Chrono Cross compare to other game music? If you assume that "50" is average, (and it should be considered average, being the middle number) Chrono Cross falls somewhere between 70 and 90. So, I'll take the average of those two and give it an 80. Personally, the rating means little to me -- How much I enjoy a collection of music or not can't just be given a number.
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| Album Information | Reviewer Rank |
|---|---|
|
Chrono Cross OST Published by: DigiCube Release Date: December 18th 1999 Composed by: Yasunori Mitsuda Arranged by: Yasunori Mitsuda 3 Discs, 67 Tracks Catalog: SSCX-10040 |
80 |
Reviewed by: BrantB
The Good
I heard this soundtrack before I played Chrono Cross, so I had the advantage of listening to the music simply as music, and not as "The song that was playing when ..... happened." Yasunori Mitsuda has managed to produce something that rises above being just the OST to a game to being as great as, if not greater than, the game it was composed for. Asking "What would Chrono Cross be without the music?" is too obvious a question to ask, since anyone can figure out that the game would be a lot worse without the music. A better question is, "What would the OST be without Chrono Cross?" If this 3-CD set was released alone, without any mention that it had originally been composed for some game named Chrono Cross, would it still be enjoyable to listen to? Absolutely. This says a lot about it.
When I first heard this soundtrack, I didn't think much of it. Sure, it was composed by the same person who did Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, but this was different. Where was the playfulness of the Chrono Trigger OST? Where was the raw emotion heard in Xenogears? I was afraid this was going to be a letdown.
Well, I was wrong on all counts. The more I listened to the music, the more I realized that the things I was listening for were indeed there - but presented more subtly than I thought. I only had to listen again, closer, to hear it. The two styles Mitsuda displayed from Chrono Trigger and Xenogears are melded together to make something entirely different. Take for example Home Termina, (Disc 2, Track 3) which starts out as a lazily-paced song. It slowly builds up to a cheery melody that could have easily fit in with the Chrono Trigger OST, but has a certain flair to it that clearly sets it apart from anything else. The same could be said for many other songs. Instead of being a letdown, this OST ended up setting a new standard.
An interesting trick used is the rearranging of the various themes found in the game. Each town has a single basic melody, which is arranged in a different style depending on which world you're in. Also, the overworld themes are arrangements from Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers, two earlier works by Mitsuda.
The sound quality is amazing. You hear fret noise from the Fado guitars, crisp percussion, and surprisingly good brass. (Personally, I've always found synth brass instruments to sound the least realistic.) Hats off to whoever at Squaresoft was responsible for this, you did an excellent job.
Notable Songs
It's hard to decide what songs to mention here. There are just too many good tracks on this soundtrack to mention every one. I'll try to narrow it down to a few of my favorites.
Chronomantique (Disc 2-Track 11):
A reggae version of the Chrono Trigger theme. Very nice to listen to.
Dreamwatch of Time (3-7):
This track wasn't actually used in the game, but appeared in the demo trailer. The linear notes for this track read, "I think this song sort of summarizes the contents of the whole game." It's an excellent arrangement of the two main themes (Radical Dreamers and Chrono Trigger) used in the game itself.
Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~ (3-15):
The ending theme. Noriko Mitose's voice is beautiful and haunting. This song's simplicity is its strength -- It is easily the best song on the whole soundtrack.
Dream Fragments (3-16):
This music-box version of the previous track appears on disc 1 as well, but I think it fits better here at the very end, right after Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~.
The Bad
There really isn't much to complain about here. There is the odd track that is rather boring and easily skippable. Personally, I couldn't stand to listen to Gale (2-20) outside the game; it just seemed too random and without form. In the Time of Darkness (3-12) isn't really music at all, just
a series of ominous roars and wind that accompanies the last battle. However, the few bad tracks are easily outnumbered by the many better ones to the point of the bad ones not mattering at all.
Explanation of Rating
Giving an OST a numerical value from one to ten is hard to do. As much as I want to, I can't just say "It's a 10 out of 10" and forget about it, because that would be taking the easy way out. The purpose of a 1-to-10 scale is to show whether X is better/worse than Y, and how much so, but such things are mostly personal opinion. Sure, it's a wonderful OST. But is it better than Xenogears? Better than Final Fantasy VI? Better than <Insert Soundtrack Here>? It depends on who you ask. So then, in my opinion, how does Chrono Cross compare to other game music? If you assume that "50" is average, (and it should be considered average, being the middle number) Chrono Cross falls somewhere between 70 and 90. So, I'll take the average of those two and give it an 80. Personally, the rating means little to me -- How much I enjoy a collection of music or not can't just be given a number.
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